"Why do you think you've been blocked professionally by me?" Kim asked, her voice soft, sweet, and poisonous. Kim was purring, slipping in between Andrew and Maxwell, resting her head on Andrew's shoulder. Showing off how close she could get to the other man's son, while Andrew was drawing a firm line between them.

Andrew's father looked slightly confused, his brows drawing together like he couldn't quite put the pieces together. It made perfect sense to Andrew. He couldn't be a smart man if he let his Mom go.

"The financial firm? Why does that matter to me?" He asked. He clearly didn't get it, and it was Kim who laughed.

"Don't be an idiot. I'm sure you've always felt that something wasn't quite right about the whole situation. It's been years, and our response has never changed. Don't behave as if you don't try to apply to have us manage your money for you every year." Kim said, basically breaking confidentiality, but at the same time, everyone knew.

"A & D firm. Think about it." Andrew deadpanned, appreciating the support from Kim. He knew that he had it, but knowing and actually having it were two completely different things. Andrew could watch the gears turning in his head, before Andrew smiled. It was taking him too damn long. "I know you only knew my Mom as an ignorant florist, but running your own business is no joke." Andrew said with a knowing smirk.

This Andrew was one built through hardship, who had watched his Mom literally work herself to the bone, the only thing keeping her together her determination to prove this fucker wrong. And what was he worth? The lint in his pocket? Andrew scoffed. He wasn't even worth his Mom's time.

Sure, he was handsome. Andrew could admit that, because they had the same fucking face, but that was all he had. For the first time, Andrew wondered if his Mom brought up the fact that he looked like his father for a different reason.

Was she saying that she was grateful that that was all that he had from his father? It was the first time that thought had ever crossed his mind, and it was too late to clarify with her to ever know the truth.

"It's named after my Mom and I. She made a whole firm, put it into the spotlight, bought up buildings out from under your family, made moves that should confuse you, and blocked you from ever being able to participate in something she was creating all because of what you did. What you continued to do. What you are still doing." Andrew said, and watched in real time as the man who had underestimated his Mom her whole life stumbled under the realisation that she had not only outsmarted him, she had out maneuvered him for years.

Kim let out a slight chuckle, and in that sound Andrew heard the years she had been holding this information back from him, waiting. She had probably wanted his Mom to have this moment, but had waited for Andrew to have it in her place.

Andrew reached up and placed his hand on Kim's hand on his shoulder, before he let go of her, let go of Maxwell, and took a step towards his father. To see him grapple with the realisation that he'd been outplayed by a woman who he had discarded was a good feeling.

A bitter feeling since his Mom couldn't revel in this moment with him physically, but it was still good.

"You should leave while you still have some of your dignity intact." Andrew told him coldly. His eyes were amber, dark, with not a single ounce of happiness in them as he stared down at the man who had helped make him.

Mr. Abraham was shorter than Andrew. If Andrew had remained a beta, he would have only been a few centimeters shorter, but now that he was just like him, he towered over the other man. Mr. Abraham clearly hated that, hated that he had to tilt his head back to look up at the son he had abandoned because he had no 'worth' to him.

Now that he had worth? He had come back, to a place he hadn't been invited, and tried to throw his weight around. He was lucky Andrew respected his soon to be in-laws as much as he did.

He didn't mind getting arrested if he got a few licks in.

Mr. Abraham puffed up his chest, his feathers ruffled, as he adjusted his suit jacket like he wasn't intimidated by his son. He glanced at Andrew, before glancing at the people behind him. His lips turned up slightly, as if seeing something that made him displeased.

Andrew turned slightly, watching where his gaze went, and then Andrew went stiff all over again.

The man was looking at Maxwell like that. Like he was a bug under his foot. Andrew felt a rumble grow inside of him, unsure of what it was, where it came from, but when he saw his father buckle, his knees gave out as Andrew's anger wrapped around him and the man like a tarp, Andrew only felt a cold detachment as he went to his knees.

"Do not ever look at him like that again." Andrew growled, his voice carrying around him. Andrew wasn't even aware of the effect he was having on the people around him. Kim was ushering the others away from him. Maxwell especially, since he was more sensitive to pheromones than the others.

Maxwell, however, wouldn't be ushered away too far. He knew that would hurt Andrew, especially since the man was rising to this level of anger for his sake.

Andrew looked down at his father, the man who shared his blood, who had wanted a true alpha so bad that he'd assaulted several people in that goal. His Mom had been one of them, and look. He'd gotten what he wanted, he just didn't like that Andrew was more of a true alpha than he ever would be.

"Don't even think about him. Don't even look up news about him. If I hear that you've approached him in any way, through business or otherwise, I'm going to ignore my Mom's wishes and I will hunt you down and do the world a great service." Andrew knew that threatening murder wasn't really something he should do.

Especially in a group like this, at a party like this, knowing how powerful his family was. But Andrew also knew his own worth. Not only did his bloodline come from two true alpha families, he was clearly more powerful than his father.

He wouldn't be able to get him to buckle like this otherwise. If he was a strong true alpha? He should have been able to stay toe to toe with Andrew. That was something that Michael had taught him through those damn booklets. Andrew had never thought he would need that particular information, yet here he was.

Reveling in it.

His father looked like he was choking on Andrew's pheromones, the sickly sweet nature of them almost hilarious when Andrew considered how he even came about. Andrew didn't let up, not until he got a physical or verbal confirmation from the man who had hurt others to get what he wanted.

Finally, he got a nod, and Andrew, a newly manifested true alpha who should not have as much control over his pheromones as he did, released him.

The man was gasping on his knees, sucking in air like he hadn't been able to breathe. Andrew crouched down so that he was eye level with him, watching him as he did so. There was a disinterest in the way that Andrew was looking at him. Like he was a bug. An insect.

Then, Andrew got up. He turned, brushed off his suit jacket, adjusted, and left the man on the floor. Andrew scanned the audience that was around them, looking for a particular person. When his eyes landed on him, his face lit up and Maxwell took a shaky step towards him.

Andrew rushed, wrapping his arms around him and apologising immediately.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" Maxwell reached up, grabbing his face and yanking them back to stare at his face, holding Andrew's face in his hands. Andrew was surprised by the emotion that was brewing in his eyes.

"I am so proud of you." Maxwell told him, choking up. "I am so proud that you stood up not just for your Mom or me, but for yourself, Andrew." Maxwell's words washed over Andrew, and it took him a moment to realise what he had said.

Once Andrew had, and the weight of his words fully hit him, there were already other people there. Moving them away, taking the couple somewhere private, somewhere far away from the man who Andrew had just confronted.

Who was left alone in his embarrassment, his downfall, while Andrew was ushered away by a group of people who loved him, cared for him, and did not want that man to see a single thing that Andrew didn't want him to.

Andrew collapsed in on himself once he knew that the other man wasn't there anymore. Maxwell held him delicately as they sat down on a couch, Maxwell cradling his head against his shoulder as Andrew's shoulders shook.

Andrew didn't know how long he cried, how long it took for him to calm down, but when he did, Maxwell was right there, a soft, loving smile on his face.

"So, just to be clear, you had a plan to kill him?" Maxwell asked softly and Andrew felt his shoulders stiffen. He closed his eyes, not wanting to meet his gaze, but also didn't want to move away from his gentle fingers in his hair, his warmth.

"Mom wouldn't tell me his address. Then she made me promise not to kill him when we both knew she was getting close to her last days. I was so fucking mad." Andrew muttered quietly and Maxwell's shoulders shook.

"My grandfather would approve." Maxwell told him softly, and Andrew wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. A few hands touched Andrew's back, and he didn't have to wonder for long who they were.

"You did an amazing job, sweetie. Did you get it all off of your chest?" It was Jenny, his voice filled with a similar love that Maxwell was speaking to him with.

"I…didn't get to tell him he wasn't my father." Andrew said softly, a tiny complaint. That brought some laughter from the group around him.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he's not smart enough to listen to you. I also got it all on camera." Maria said from nearby. When Andrew turned to look at her, she gave him a wink. "If he tries to deny it, I'll spread it in a heartbeat." She promised, steel in her voice. Andrew melted.

He hadn't expected that he would have this much support around him when he finally confronted his father, but now that he did? He couldn't imagine it going any other way.